Pharmacy Cigar Meeting

Nino
 Share

Recommended Posts

OZCUBAN Prominentes

OZCUBAN

Posted
Posted

x2 great stuff Nino the weather looks fantastic ,well for Europe lookaround.gifwhistle.gifwink2.gif

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Nino Prominentes

Nino

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Nino. Can u share what the story is for meeting at a pharmacy?

Anyway. Looks like an awesome time. Again. wink.png

Sure - but let me do it by copying the text that my friend Rob Fox from JJ Fox posted last year after visiting the event with some Irish mates.

I think it will answer your question and the story of "The Pharmacy" ....buddies.gif

Flying Cigars at the Pharmacy Smoke

by Rob Fox

Readers of Nino Munoz’s Flying Cigar blog will be vaguely aware that on occasion he ends up in a pharmacy, and this has something to do with Cigars. I never really understood this. Personally, I thought perhaps ‘the pharmacy’ was a lost in German translation name for a local watering-hole with a nice smoking terrace. Or perhaps ‘the pharmacy’ was just a pharmacy, the same type of pharmacy that I go to the day after a cigar session; and the cigar smoking and pharmacy visits were so interdependent that they have became one. Or something.

Well, in Havana back in February, Nino suggested that we put a team together to visit; and visit we did last Friday. And we found out that ‘the pharmacy’ is a pharmacy. Its a retail outlet. There are beauty products and shampoo for sale out front, parecetemol behind the counter and drugs are dispensed from the back – the same type of pharmacy as in your town or village. The proprietors are second generation; they live upstairs. There is a Garden at the back. This isn’t Boots, it’s a real community pharmacy owned and run by a local family.

But what makes this particular pharmacy different is Andreas’ (the proprietor) interest in handmade cigars and the company he keeps. A couple of years ago, Nino joined Andres at the pharmacy for a cigar. It was a good evening. They decided to do it again and again it went well. The next time they were joined by another cigar smoking friend, etc, etc, skip scenes to…. August 2012. There are 60 friends brought together by cigars from all over Europe smoking at Andreas’ Pharmacy. It went well, again. Its not a club, it is just a group of friends and this particular group of friends included some of the most welcoming people I have ever come across.

We were entertained and looked after from the very start of our visit. Nino picked up one group from one airport, and Frank and Koen, the Belgian contingent, picked up the other from the other. Hahns joined us as we converged for lunch in Schloss Volrans which is a beautiful working winery. A tour of other vineyards in the Rhinegau ensued before we headed across the river on a ferry to Rhinehessan and to our hotel. On to the Adler Apotheke Pharmacy in Woerrstadt. There we met the pharmacy cigar hosts, Andreas and Bernard, there we were well fed and watered along with the other 60 attendees. We were treated to top quality Rums, Schnapps, Whiskeys and Beers. We ate carpaccio of smoked pork loin, Snitzel and all manner of salads prepared at home and brought in by pharmacy regulars.

We paid a quick visit to the local Irish Pub which was celebrating 15years in Woerrstadt. The Guinness was good, but no where near as good as the tobacco beer which Koen had brought with him to share during the weekend. Back at the Pharmacy, just when the alcohol needed a little more soakage, a 30” pizza was hand delivered by the local Italian Restaurant owner (yes his name was Vito, yes he came from Sicily, no he didn’t speak any other language than Sicilian, no he didn’t look like he could ‘whack’ you, but no you would never ever ever dare try to find out).

I figured that 60 was a huge number for a small town 45 minutes drive from Frankfurt, sure enough it was explained that numbers were swollen by it being the annual summer big smoke, and because the Weisbadden based Cigar Cult Club run by Godfried and Gabriel was sharing the weekend. Midweek there would only be 15-20 regulars. Midweek? How often do you meet? Every thirteen days. Every thirteen days???? And you average 15-20 regulars, every thirteen days???

Its true, there is a bunch of 15-20 cigar smoking friends who meet every thirteen days in a pharmacy in a small town on the outskirts of Frankfurt, and as I said, they are extraordinarily generous. Each of our team had individually brought cigars to share, but we received back as quickly as we offered. We brought UK and GB Regional Editions, we received back Regional Editions from across the world.

We brought aged cigars, and were offered back older with interest. We brought vintage cigars from the 1960s and were offered 1930s back. We had brought whiskey, but we were still owing when the rounds finished, and they only finished when we admitted defeat, and strolled back to our hotel.

Saturday started the same way as Friday ended, and again we were looked after all day. A long leisurely breakfast graduated into an excellent wine tasting hosted by Silke Guttandin at her families winery and vineyards. We went back to Don Vito’s pizzeria for lunch who had only stayed open for Nino, his consigliere. Nino really pushed things when he asked Vito if we could order ice cream from the neighbouring establishment. Vito held his finger to his thumb and muttered something about disrespect, before Nino smoothed things over. I was beginning to wonder who was the real godfather of Woerrstadt.

On Saturday evening we travelled to a nearby town to the Party Barn where the Weisbadden Cigar Cult Club, hosted by Gabrial and Godfried, looked after us very well. It was an Oliva Short Robusto on arrival followed by Cordon Blue Chicken, Rhineghau Riesling, Cigarrignac (a cognac made for the Cigar Cult Club) and Beer. Partagas P2 to finish with an excellent cheese board. When we finally got back to Woerrstadt our target venu, the Irish pub, was closed; so it looked like that was it – all the watering-holes were closed. But why would that put off Woerrstadt’s cigar smokers, especially when the proprietor of a local pharmacy was in our midst. Sure enough, it was back to the pharmacy, back for more cigars, more Rum and Beer and Schnapps, more jokes and belly laughs.

We were joined by Andreas’ Wife and then later by his Father; these guys were really sharing their real lives with us.

Sunday Morning. A walk across the vineyards with Nino’s and Andreas’s better halves Inge and Stafanie showing the way. Brunch, but this time with only 20 other cigar enthusiasts.

Nino produces an 80 year old Sol Aramosos Imperiales which he had received from a friend and wanted to “try out”. It was very pleasant indeed. I haven’t smoked a cigar from the 1930s before, nor have I experienced a cigar with such intriguing and unique tastes. It went well with the Alsatian Cremant that Nino had selected to accompany it, partly for the cigar, partly in appreciation of our Alsatian Chef who had prepared a beautiful breakfast for us.

And then it was all over.

Inge and Nino got us back to the hotel, and into the taxi they had organised.

They had each given up their weekends to look after us, and it was a weekend that I shall never forget. Its organisation and preparation was exact; dare I say ‘German’, which usually is enough to make a great weekend. But added to this were all the people who over the years have gravitated toward the Pharmacy Smoke for what it is: a bunch of friends who enjoy the occasional (every thirteenth day to be precise) cigar, and who welcome friends of like mind.

To all of them I say thank you, it was extraordinary, and watch out: you might need to build a bigger pharmacy. Or a whole chain of them. Watch out boots.

http://www.jamesfox.ie/blog/?p=542

Nino smile.png

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share
Go to topic listing

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.

Community Software by Invision Power Services, Inc.